Webb Telescope Snaps Pictures of a Star 25 Light-Years Away That Will Blow Your Mind
The Webb Telescope is a gem of modern astronomy. Recently, it captured astonishing images that will surely blow your mind.
Seeing deep into the cosmos, the telescope has directed its lenses on a star located around 25 light years away from Earth. It unveiled never-before-seen images.
These stunning snapshots include three asteroid belts around the young star, Formalhaut. The images also gave the astronomers additional insights about this star and its distinct debris spheres.
These exceptional snapshots gave us a better understanding of the celestial bodies around the universe. It also highlighted the fantastic capabilities of the Webb telescope.
Webb has a new achievement under its (asteroid) belt!
This image is our first infrared look at an asteroid belt outside our solar system. Webb reveals there are actually 3 belts, including 2 never-before-seen inner belts, around the star of Fomalhaut: https://t.co/pDQKAh4hDA pic.twitter.com/GWed3Bbu4m
— NASA Webb Telescope (@NASAWebb) May 8, 2023
The brightest star of all southern constellations is the Formalhaut. It has been under the James Webb telescope’s watch.
Contrary to beliefs that a solo asteroid belt surrounds the star, Webb’s views have revealed that three intricate belts exist. These belts, like the Kuiper belt, are more complex than those in our solar system.
You may also like: Webb Space Telescope captures ‘Pillars of Creation’ with new clarity
The outer belt around Formalhaut was already known before, but Webb’s photos show it is twice as big as our solar system’s Kuiper belt. Furthermore, this is the first time astronomers have examined the inner belts.
These giant spheres of dust, the “debris disks,” are composed of different sizes of debris and rocks. Observers believed them to be residues of bigger celestial bodies that crashed with one another.
The Significance of Webb Telescope’s Observations
Webb’s photos of Formalhaut have given astronomers a better understanding of this young star and its surrounding asteroid belts. While the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array and the Hubble Space Telescope have studied Formalhaut before, they could only view the outer part of the belt.
The 3 nested belts here extend out to 14 billion miles (23 billion km) from the star. That’s 150 times the distance of Earth from the Sun! The scale of the outermost belt is also roughly twice the scale of our solar system’s Kuiper belt. pic.twitter.com/If76NeaYA3
— NASA Webb Telescope (@NASAWebb) May 8, 2023
On the other hand, the James Webb Telescope can help astronomers observe even in the inner parts of these cosmic bodies where hot gas exists.
By adding the data from ALMA and Hubble’s observations of the cooler outer regions and Webb’s findings, astronomers can now create a detailed image of Fomalhaut’s environment.
You may also like: Oldest Galaxies in the Universe Discovered by Webb Telescope
This comprehensive view will enable them to determine the gaps in the debris that might be the size of the planets. It could further provide insights into what the star formation looks like.
Overall, the James Webb Space Telescope’s groundbreaking photos of Formalhaut and its asteroid belts have improved our understanding of this celestial body.
By unveiling previously unknown features, Webb has opened more opportunities for a more profound observation of the star. Astronomers can now further study its possible planetary system and its debris spheres.
